Fifty years after Emergency was imposed by the Indira Gandhi government, the BJP has turned the anniversary into a political reckoning. Across ministries, states, and party units, the day was observed as Samvidhan Hatya Diwas — the day the Constitution was “murdered.”

The target was clear: the Congress party.

At a Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a two-minute silence was observed. Then, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw read out a resolution that pulled no punches:

“The Union Cabinet, chaired by PM Modi, resolved to commemorate and honour the sacrifices of countless individuals who valiantly resisted the Emergency. The year 2025 marks 50 years of the Samvidhan Hatya Divas, an unforgettable chapter in the history of India where the Constitution was subverted. Fundamental rights, human liberty, and dignity were suspended.”

The statement didn’t stop at 1975. It named the movements Indira Gandhi tried to crush before declaring Emergency — the Nav Nirman Andolan and Sampoorn Kranti Abhiyan.

No room for ambiguity

Union home minister Amit Shah said, "Emergency, imposed 50 years ago, by a despotic ruler, whose sole aim was to preserve her dynastic rule, was one of the darkest chapters in India’s history,"

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra made the party’s position clear: “The attack on democracy happened 50 years ago in the form of an emergency. About 1.5 lakh people were put in jail overnight. Whether it is Kharge or Jairam Ramesh, these people do not know what kind of sufferings and tortures the common Indian had to endure.”

While Congress leaders accused the BJP of running an “undeclared emergency” today, the ruling party used the occasion to put the Opposition on trial — in public memory.

Direct accusations from BJP leaders

The assault on the Congress came from every direction.

Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary called out the RJD-Congress alliance. “The entire nation is understanding who was responsible for destroying democracy. Lalu Yadav, who started politics under Jayaprakash Narayan's guidance, is now playing into the hands of Congress.”

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “We demand that the Congress party should offer an unconditional apology. Rahul Gandhi must realise and remember that it is his family and his party who have murdered the Constitution.”

Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav lashed out at Congress’s hypocrisy: “For its selfish interests, Congress never respects the law and the Constitution. Today, they are shedding crocodile tears for Dr BR Ambedkar.”

Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria said: “If democracy was ever truly killed, it was only their government that did it. They turned India into a jail.”

In Maharashtra, CM Devendra Fadnavis said Indira Gandhi’s government not only jailed Opposition leaders, but rewrote the Constitution to destroy Ambedkar’s legacy. “Indira Gandhi tried to end India's democracy, but democracy warriors fought such a battle that India's democracy was saved.”

Sudhanshu Trivedi underlined the legal trigger for the crackdown: “There has been only one such occasion in India's history when a Prime Minister was declared ineligible to contest elections by the court on the grounds of electoral fraud, and that was Indira Gandhi. After this, the Emergency was imposed.”

Not just history — lived trauma

Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan recalled being jailed as a teenager. “I was jailed. I was handcuffed, beaten up and taken to jail. I was beaten with sticks on my knees and elbows. The country will never forget that the day is the biggest blot in the democratic history of independent India.”

Former Union minister Prakash Javadekar spoke of 16 months in jail after a satyagraha: “Emergency was imposed to save the chair of Indira Gandhi. The BJP preserved the Constitution, while Congress destroyed it.”